The Gift to Sing: Highlights of the Leon F. Litwack and Bancroft Library African American Collections

For decades professor emeritus of history Leon F. Litwack has been accumulating what is arguably the worlds finest private collection of books on African American history and culture. This exhibition displays highlights of the collection that will be coming to The Bancroft Library as a bequest. The Litwack collection is particularly noteworthy for its Harlem Renaissance first editions in strikingly illustrated dust jackets. The exhibition includes books with distinguished provenance such as a copy of Frederick Douglasss Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave with an inscription by the famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Complementing the Litwack books are treasures from Bancrofts significant African American holdings, including the first book by an African American, Phyllis Wheatleys Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, published in 1773.